XerExaltedLite/Foundations

Foundations

Most everyone has a set of beliefs that drives them forward, a set of goals that pushes them on in times of hardship. For social combat and other purposes, the collection of things that makes up a characters mindset are called Foundations. For every dot a character has in a Virtue, she has a Foundation. Roughly analagous to the Passions of ghosts (indeed, some may carry over as such), they tell a lot about her.

Since Foundations involve fleshing out the personality of a person, Minor Characters are typically considered not to have them. The Storyteller may, at her discretion, consider a Minor Character to have a 1-dot Foundation to cover specific needs on the spot.

A character with many Virtues may have many Foundations, or a few Foundations which she upholds vigorously. Sometimes, Foundations may bridge Virtues - often seen as dangerous and single-minded. Other times, events may bring two Foundations into unity or opposition, which can be seen as fortuitous or disastrous.

Foundations must normally involve a specific pronoun, or something similarly narrow. Unusually broad foundations may require two or three dots to be assigned for a one-dot effect, at the ST's discretion. The following are only examples, PCs and NPCs should have a unique set.

Goals: Conviction Foundations

A character's Conviction determines her prime goals, those things she seeks.

1. Rebuilding Rathess
2. Seeking a specific person as a lover
3. Finding a specific treasure or location
4. Seeking revenge against a specific person

Loyalties: Sacrifice Foundations

Those things a character believes to be more important than herself:

1. To a specific ruler
2. To a specific organization
3. To a lover
4. To a friend

Beliefs: Temperance Foundations

Temperance governs moral beliefs.

1. Vows of Chastity (and meaning them)
2. A given text(and sometimes a specific version of it) is infallible. Ie, the Immaculate Texts.
3. Killing without need is wrong.
4. Everyone has a right to freedom.

Valor

What you fight for.

1. A specific cause
2. A specific person
3. A specific organization

Redux

Foundations grant strength in Social Combat, reducing the damage rating of any Social Attack by their value, potentially reducing it to zero no matter what the Essence of the attacker is, as well as adding their strength to any Defensive Value used.

Affirming Foundations also recovers Virtue Points, and some Charms may only be used when serving or furthering Foundations.

Temporary Foundations

Through Social Combat or Charm effects, characters may be forced to gain additional foundations, or 'demote' their permanent ones to temporary status. These foundations can be in excess of the character's total Virtues, but they all vanish after a night of rest (not necessarily sleep), either becoming permanent Foundations or dissapearing entirely. The character chooses which dissappear and which become permanent.

If a Temporary Foundation is demoted again, it vanishes completely. If it merely reduces the strength of a Foundation, the character may 'regrow' it as a Temporary Foundation the next morning, unless already replaced with something else.

Converting someone who has devoted two or more dots to a given Foundation can be extremely difficult.